Happy Birthday
by Ace Bellamanx
Summary: Today is May's 13th birthday. All she wants is to go on an adventure, but she may get more than she bargained for.


Chapter One: The Best Day

_I'm thirteen now  
And don't know how my friends could be so mean  
I come home crying and you hold me tight and grab the keys  
And we drive and drive until we've found a town  
Far enough away and we talk and window-shop  
Until I've forgotten all their names_

_~Happy~Birthday~_

"Happy birthday honey!" Mother shouted in my ear as she lit all the candles on the brightly colored birthday cake that lay in front of me.

"Thanks mom!" My name is May. Today is my thirteenth birthday, which means that today is the day I get my Pokémon Trainer License! Now I know, most Pokémon Trainers get their Licenses when they turn ten, but when I turned ten, my mother decided that I was not yet mature enough to go out on my own. Translation: she's clingy. Fortunately, about a month ago I managed to talk my mom into letting me go out on my own! I can't tell you how excited I am, I seriously thought for awhile that I was going to be spending my life learning the family business; breeding Pokémon. Don't get me wrong, breeding Pokémon is really fun! But not the Pokémon that my mom likes to breed… Bidoof, and… whatever it evolves into. I really don't care. Anyway, later on today I'm heading down to Professor Juniper's lab to get my License, Pokédex and Starter Pokémon. I'm so nervous; I don't think I could stomach any food if I tried to eat. But I still have to sit here while my mom pigs out on cake and ice cream. Fat ass…. Although, I shouldn't complain, after all, I'm lucky my mom is even letting me go out on my own. If my dad had his way, I would spend my days picking berries. I hate picking berries.

He's not my real dad. My real dad died when I was three years old. Mother was devastated. Then, when I was nine, mom married the step-loser. For two, terrible years, we lived together. Every night mom made dinner, and father dearest came home from his job as a Pokémon Breeder. During dinner he would ignore me and tell mom how he loved Breeding, but battling was his passion. Mom thought life was perfect; meanwhile I sat in the chair at the end of the dinner table while they ate. A devious plot formed in my head. Our city of Littleroot Town doesn't have a gym. However, a town a couple routes over, Petalburg City does. I told mom that I was spending the night at a friend's house, and set out to the Gym. Once there, I found that the Leader was an eighty-two year old man with health problems. He hadn't won a Gym Battle in years! I convinced him that he should retire. The next day he died of shock due to not being the Gym Leader anymore, turns out that the thrill of a battle was the only thing keeping him alive. I came home the next day and informed my father of the newly opened position. Immediately he packed his bags and left to go get his dream job. For the past year, mom and I have lived alone, step-dad only coming home once a month on his break to have some alone time with mom. And the best part? I'm a Pokémon trainer, he's a Gym Leader. I get to come face-to-face with him and kick his ass! But first I have to get my Pokémon.

"Mom!" She looked up from her cake and stared at me.

"Yes?"

"Can we go now?"

"Calm down, not yet!" I groaned and threw my head back. "First we have to open presents!" I sat up in my chair.

"Presents?"

"Yes, presents. You didn't think I wasn't getting you anything did you?"

"Well, I kind of thought that my Trainer's License was my present…"

"Well… no. That is your late tenth birthday present. You earned your license three years ago and I didn't let you have it. So I figured I should get you something extra. Your _thirteenth _birthday present is this…" She reached her hand down into a little paper bag at her feet and rummaged around a bit. After what seems like forever, she pulls her hand out. And what's in it? A Pokéball. She hands it to me.

"…A Pokéball."

"Not just a Pokéball! A Pokéball with a Pokémon inside it!"

"No way."

"Yes way!"

"What is it?"

"Well, why don't you find out?"

"…Okay." Slowly I rose from my seat at the table and stood. The Pokéball was clenched in my hand, and I raised it over my head. With all my strength I threw it at the ground. Nothing happened.

"Mom, it's defective."

"No, you did it wrong."

"Well, how do I do it right?" I began to flail my arms in frustration.

"You have to say something stupid when you throw it." I stared at her for a moment.

"What?"

"I said, you have to say something stupid when you throw it."

"You're kidding right?"

"No, I'm serious." Finally I ripped my eyes from her and picked the Pokéball up again. Once again I brought the ball up over my head again.

"Something stupid!" I shouted as I threw the ball at the ground again. Still nothing happened.

"MOM!" I looked at her. There she was, doubled in half with laughter.

"I'm sorry honey!" She said wiping a tear from her eye.

"…"

"Okay fine. I gave you an empty Pokéball, but look at it this way. I'm letting you go out on an adventure on your own for God knows how long! I think I deserve to mess with you a bit."

"…Fine." I crossed my arms and handed her the ball.

"I want my Pokémon now."

"Okay, okay. Be patient. I'm getting it." She reached down once again into the bag and pulled out another Pokéball.

"Thank you." I said as she handed it to me. I raised it over my head again, and then paused.

"Wait, do I really have to say something stupid when I throw this?"

"Oh, of course not, what is this, some stupid children's show?"

"Good point." I said, and then lightly tossed the red and white orb at the ground. With a strange clinking sound, the ball bounced and opened. A transparent red beam protruded from the ball and began to form into a solid creature. The Pokémon was a blue/green color and looked similar to a ball attached to another shape. It floated in mid-air, a single red eye staring at me for a moment then floating to me and nudging my arm.

"Awww, it's cute. What kind of Pokémon is it?"

"It's called Beldum. It's very rare. A friend of mine in Mossdeep City breeds them and I managed to convince him to give me one. He shipped it here this morning." May couldn't remember if her mother had mentioned the name of her friend, but she didn't really care. She wouldn't need to know that anyway.

"That's so awesome! Thank you so much!" I said, rushing to her and hugging her. She chuckled slightly, embracing me warmly.

"Aww, your welcome honey…" She kissed me on the head, then pulled away and pointed at Beldum.

"I think he likes you!" The Pokémon was flying around me, making strange metallic noises that sounded oddly like laughter. I turned to it and opened my arms, and laughed as it flew into my arms.

"Yeah, he definitely likes you! Are you going to nickname him?"

"No, I think I like Beldum." I said, releasing Beldum and picking my Pokéball back up.

"I think I'm going to head down to Professor Juniper's lab now, okay mom?"

"Okay honey, be safe." I walked down the hall of my house, Beldum following close behind as I grabbed my backpack from my room, filling it with potions and ethers that I had been saving for quite some time.

"Ready Beldum?" I asked it, moving to it with an Oran Berry. It took the berry into its mouth, which appeared out of nowhere. It hummed in delight, it's bottom eyelid raising up to show happiness.

"Good, let's go." I walked out of my room, and left the house with a quick goodbye to my mom. I was practically sprinting down the road, eager to get to Oldale Town and see Professor Juniper. Beldum had no problem keeping up with me as it floated nearby at all times. Oldale Town was one Route over, but only took twenty minutes to walk to. Why they didn't just make the two tiny towns one was beyond me, but people generally aren't smart when it comes to these things. After what seemed like forever (five minutes) I dashed up to Professor Juniper's lab. After stopping to catch my breath, I calmly pushed the doors open and stepped in. The sight I met surprised me. It wasn't completely high tech. Quite the contrary, there was maybe two computers and the rest of the walls were covered in bookshelves.

"Wow." I said, the mere sight of so many books giving me a headache.

"Well, you must be May." A female voice came from behind me. I turned to face her.

"Yes, I am, you must be Professor Juniper" I asked in the friendliest voice I could find. The woman smiled warmly and walked to a desk at the far end of the lab. She sat down and reached for a pair of glasses on her desk, placing them on her nose.

"Sure am. Let me guess? You want your Pokémon Trainer's License."

"Yeah! Today is my thirteenth birthday and I would love to be able to start my journey."

"Well you couldn't have come to a better place, considering that I'm the only person in the whole region that is qualified to distribute Pokédexs and Trainer's Licenses."

"Ok, so when can I get my license? Isn't there like a four day waiting period or something?"

"Actually, about a week ago your mother called me. She told me you would be coming, so I got your License made early. Here you are." She set a small bundle on the desk in front of her, wrapped in blue cloth and tied with a red ribbon. I slowly stepped to it and untied the ribbon. As the cloth fell away I gasped. There it was, my Trainer's License card, plastic and shiny, sitting right on top of a brand spanking new Pokédex. Slowly I reached for it, as if it was a poisonous snake about to bite me if I got too close. I snatched it up with a cry of victory and hugged to my chest. I was now officially a Pokémon Trainer.

"YESYESYES! THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!" Professor Juniper laughed for a moment before taking her glasses off.

"You're welcome! Now, is that Beldum yours?" She asked pointing to it as it floated aimlessly around the lab.

"Yes, my mom got it for me for my birthday."

"So, I take it you aren't going to need a starter Pokémon."

"No, I shouldn't."

"Good, because someone took my last one five minutes before you got here."

"Really? I guess I got lucky then!"

"Yes, you certainly did." She said, a mysterious glimmer in her eyes.

"Can I trust you?" Her question confused me at first, but whenever someone says that in all the movies it means they have something really important to tell you, so I leapt at the chance.

"Of course! Why?"

"Well…" Professor Juniper paused, then quickly strode over to the window behind her desk, the only window in the lab and pulled the blue curtains shut.

"What if I told you that there was a group of villains on the loose in the Hoenn Region?"

"Well… I don't know. Is there?"

"..Yes."

"No way, that's the sort of thing that would be on the news, or in the paper. We would have heard about it, my mom reads the paper every day."

"Exactly. If everyone knew that there was a group of incredibly dangerous criminals on the loose in Hoenn the whole Region would go into a state of panic. Officer Jenny has kept the entire thing under wraps until she can get a hold on the situation."

"So what does this have to do with me?"

"Well, first it's important for you to know that this is highly confidential information. In the wrong hands this could be devastating to the Hoenn Region. This is the type of thing news crews would _love_ to get their hands on. They find out, and we have a full blown crisis. Second, Jenny was planning on enlisting the help of the Pokémon League Champion, Steven, but he's disappeared somewhere and can't be found. So Officer Jenny has asked me to keep my eyes out for any especially talented trainers I should happen to come across."

"Well, why are you telling _me_ this?"

"I think you may be that trainer." I paused for a second.

"What? How can I be the "especially talented trainer" you're looking for? I haven't been in a Pokémon battle in my entire life! I just got Beldum today!"

"I know that. However, are you aware of what a pseudo-legendary Pokémon is?"

"Psycho-what?"

"Pseudo-legendary. It's the classification of a Pokémon that is so rare, it can almost be classified as a legendary Pokémon. These Pokémon, when caught and trained usually take a very strong disliking to they're trainers."

"…So?"

"So! Beldum is one of the six known pseudo-legendary Pokémon to exist! The fact that it appears to like you so much really says something about you as both a person and a trainer. You have potential. I know it."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Wow. So you want me to go out and battle some mysterious group of villains?"

"Well, not yet. I understand you were planning on taking on the Pokémon League?"

"Yes."

"Well. How about, if you can make it all the way through all eight gyms, and beat the Elite Four, we will enlist you."

"Wow… this is a lot to take in. I'll have to think about it…"

"Well, you have until you beat the Elite Four to decide. Our sources tell us they haven't been active, and hopefully it will stay that way for a while."

"Okay, but if I'm even going to think about this I'm going to need a bit more information about these criminals."

"Alright. In about three days I will have a messenger get their file to you."

"Okay. So, are we done? My mom is probably wondering where I am. "

"Yes, thank you for stopping by. By the way, there is a Pokénav installed in your Pokédex. Good luck on your journey, and remember, I will be in touch." She said the last few words in an almost threatening tone. I quickly wished her goodbye and began walking back to Littleroot Town.

_~Happy~Birthday~_

So, what do you think? I thought I would take a break from writing Kingdom Hearts and low and behold! It turns out that Pokémon is a lot easier to write than Kingdom Hearts… besides my other stories aren't all that good, and I have a feeling that this is going to be my main project for quite some time. xD

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